Saturday, April 30, 2011

Happy Bees

Yesterday was a nice, mild, sunny day. Perfect weather for the girls to get acquainted with their new location. The hive was buzzing with activity. This video was taken during the height of that action. Again, I apologize for the sideways video. One of these days it will sink in that I can't shoot video when my camera is rotated.

If you tilt your head to the left it makes viewing easier. And tell your chiropractor I said "Hi". At times my entire backyard was filled with bees happily coming and going from their hive. I brought a couple of my friends over (the non-bee-skittish ones) and we stood about 6 feet from the hive and watched the action. I could stay out there for hours. And this summer I will.

For those who worry that the bees will attack my neighbors, look closely at this photo. This was taken at the height of the bees activity.

Look to the far right. See that young man mowing? At one point he was weed whacking and mowing directly behind the hive. Separated only by the fence and screen. That would place him less than 3 feet from the hive, but with a 10 foot screen between the bees and himself. Unfortunately, by the time I'd grabbed my camera, he had already moved to another area. Did he get stung? No. Was he even aware there was a hive close-by? Probably not. He didn't bother them and they didn't bother him. Bees are around us everyday. Most of the time we don't even notice. Honey bees are docile. They only sting when they feel threatened. Now if you step on one, or sit on it, can you really blame the poor creature for trying to defend itself?

Update at 8:30am 4-30-11 - I just checked on the status of their sugar water supply. They aren't going through it as fast as I'd hoped. They maybe drank a cup of the water from the front feeder. And there were no bees under that feeder this morning. I removed the outer cover from the top of the hive and lifted the can of sugar water. The can still has plenty in it and there were many bees crowded underneath it. Tomorrow I will replace both feeders with fresh syrup.